Economics Daily Digest: Has the unthinkable become unavoidable?

By Tim Price, originally published on Next New Deal

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Budget Cuts Seen as Risk to Growth of U.S. Economy (NYT)

Binyamin Appelbaum and Annie Lowrey report that forecasters predict the sequester will shave about half a percentage point off GDP, but policymakers intentionally designed the whole thing to have horrible consequences, so maybe it's best not to encourage them.

The GOP's Budget Denialism (TNR)

Jonathan Cohn argues that Republicans must accept that the government is going to keep growing and revenue must grow with it. Otherwise they can either print more money (nope) or simply maintain that we shouldn't pay for things, an ethos shared by shoplifters.

New study badly undermines GOP position on sequester (WaPo)

Greg Sargent highlights a study from a Congressional Research Service analyst who finds that the single greatest driver of inequality over a period of 15 years has been income from capital gains and dividends, or as the GOP's constituents refer to it, income.

Unemployed would lose benefits if federal budget cuts go through (CNNMoney)

Tami Luhby notes that the sequester will cut extended federal unemployment benefits by almost 10 percent, which some members of Congress no doubt view as an added incentive for recipients to go get a job before Congress is finished destroying them all.

Connecting Entitlement Reform to Immigration Reform (Robert Reich)

Reich writes that one of the biggest fiscal challenges for Social Security and Medicare is that there will be fewer young workers supporting more retirees in coming years. Luckily, we have tons of immigrant workers eager to lend a hand if we'd stop slapping it away.

A jump-start for American wages (WaPo)

Harold Meyerson notes that there are big deals going down in the corporate world, from Comcast buying NBC to Warren Buffett buying a liftetime supply of ketchup, but workers still aren't seeing a dime, and they won't unless the government sets wage standards.

Why Degree Inflation Hits Women Workers Hardest (Businessweek)

Sheelah Kolhatkar writes that as bachelor's degrees become a requirement for administrative jobs, women are having a harder time getting a foot in the door'though our research finds those jobs disappearing, so the entrance might be bricked over anyway.

Friends in Low Places: Where the Real Lobbying Happens (ProPublica)

Jesse Eisinger argues that despite the controversy over top-level regulatory nominations like Mary Jo White, the real action takes place in the back rooms, where a bunch of lobbyists-turned-staffers whom you've never heard of are deciding which master to serve.

Tim Price is Deputy Editor of Next New Deal. Follow him on Twitter @txprice.